Jay-Z Headlines Glastonbury Festival – Today in Hip-Hop
On this day, June 28, in hip-hop history...
2008: It was a huge leap for hip-hop when Jay Z headlined England's Glastonbury Festival on June 28, 2008. Always one to break down barriers for the rap world, the Roc Boy was the first hip-hop headliners to ever grace the stage. Co-headlined by American rock band Kings of Leon and British rock band The Verve, Jay was among one of the few hip-hop acts in the entire festival.
When it was announced in February of 2008 that Jay would be a headliner, some English artists were openly opposed to bringing rap into the festival. Noel Gallagher of Oasis was one of the most vocal critics of having HOV on the bill, saying in an interview with BBC that it was breaking the tradition of the rock-centered festival.
“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it," Gallagher said. "If you start to break it then people aren’t going to go. I’m sorry, but Jay-Z? No chance… Glastonbury has a tradition of guitar music and even when they throw the odd curve ball in on a Sunday night you go ‘Kylie Minogue?’ I don’t know about it. But I’m not having hip-hop at Glastonbury. It’s wrong."
But to Gallagher's dismay, Jay rocked out with 140,000 fans on night 2 of Glastonbury. Jay performed his biggest hits and even gave a nod to Gallagher by at one point in his set, hitting a few chords on an electric guitar and changing up the lyrics to "Jockin' Jay Z."
"That bloke from Oasis said I couldn't play guitar/Somebody should have told him I'm a fuckin' rock star" rapped Jay.